To ensure this trajectory continues, we must continue improving access and availability to prevention, care, and treatment, and invest in local partnerships to help eliminate disparities
Statement from Daliah Heller, Vital Strategies, Vice President, Overdose Prevention Initiatives
New CDC data analyzing the 12-month period ending in December 2024 show a 27% decline in overdose deaths versus the previous year.
Daliah Heller, Vice President for Overdose Prevention Initiatives at Vital Strategies issued the following statement:
“The good news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday affirms that 2024 marked a dramatic and welcome turning point in the overdose crisis in the United States. Updated data from the CDC Monthly Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts demonstrate that compared to the year before, overdose deaths fell by nearly 30,000, a remarkable change we have also witnessed in the hard-hit states where we work. While changes this rapid and significant are attributable to multiple factors, including the decisions and practices of people who are using drugs and changes in the drug supply, among the essential contributors are significant investments in public health strategies and widespread support for addressing drug use as a health issue.
“Good news like this is only possible when people are able to access treatment and healthcare services. We know that in many of the hardest hit states, Medicaid coverage accounts for upwards of 70% of all funding for substance use disorder treatment. Progress over recent years also underscores the tremendous importance of federal grants helping communities tackle overdose through local innovation. Targeted grant funding to states and cities from CDC, SAMHSA, and DOJ has helped to shape and sustain public health strategies to meet the local need, assuring that resources like naloxone, medication treatment, and drug checking are reaching people most vulnerable to overdose. This funding continues to catalyze tailored community models and inform best practices to ensure future progress against overdose.”
“Sensible, proven strategies such as naloxone availability, access to treatment medications like methadone and buprenorphine, and drug checking work. We must continue to ensure that people who are using drugs have access to resources to make informed decisions about their health, and immediate, low-barrier opportunities to connect with services and treatment. Given the ongoing volatile and potent drug supply, engaging people with care and supports is critical to saving lives. These public health investments must continue to grow if we want to see a sustained reduction in drug-related deaths, injuries, and illness.
“We expect that these national data on declining deaths mask considerable disparities in overdose deaths for Black and Indigenous populations, who have experienced smaller declines and potentially even increases in some regions of the country. We must invest in focused support, such as our You Have the Power to Save Lives campaign, which is mobilizing Black community leaders to promote naloxone in their communities. Coordinated efforts that bring together government, impacted communities and public health expertise are known to have impact. Local partnerships have the know-how and relationships to respond in ways that drive progress and address the underlying causes shaping racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities.
“The 2024 data are welcome and dramatic, but 80,000 of our friends, family, and community members did not survive: We must continue to grow, strengthen, and accelerate public health investments to address drug use. Robust support for proven, community-driven responses will ensure we can continue driving the curve down for all populations and meet the future with hope.”
Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our overdose prevention program works to strengthen and scale evidence-based, data-driven policies and interventions to create equitable and sustainable reductions in overdose deaths in several U.S. states and local jurisdictions.
Learn more about the Overdose Prevention Program.